A massive London derby takes place at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as Chelsea take on Arsenal with the two teams level on points.
Enzo Maresca has had a fantastic start to life in charge of Chelsea, changing his style of play quite easily and their young side look dangerous, calm and enjoying the freedom they are given on the ball. They were a little disappointed 1-1 draw at Manchester United last weekend and the main area where they need to improve is the defense. In midfield and in attack, they look calm and dangerous when the balance has arrived. The next step for this young Chelsea side is to get a marquee win against one of the Premier League’s big boys. The Blues are sweating on Cole Palmer’s fitness for this clash.
Arsenal are really struggling, especially going forward. They lost 1-0 at Newcastle last weekend and off the same result at Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday as Mikel Arteta’s side have suffered similar setbacks. They just can’t find the decisive last pass or finish in the final third and look tired due to recent injuries. Captain Martin Odegaard’s return from injury will help their creativity, but he is probably not fit enough to start at Chelsea. With three defeats from their last six in all competitions (the same number of defeats as in their previous 32 games in all competitions), plus Edu leaves as sports directorArsenal are at a crucial stage of their season trying to get things back on track. Their biggest injury concern going into this one is Declan Rice.
How to watch Chelsea vs Arsenal live, stream link and start time
Kick-off time: 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday (November 10)
Venue: Stamford Bridge — London
TV channel: USA Network
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Chelsea team news, focus
All eyes will be on Cole Palmer and whether he is fit enough to start against Arsenal. He suffered a knee injury after bruising against Man United where he was hacked down by Lisandro Martinez. Chelsea have a very solid defense and midfield, with Lavia and Caciedo likely to start in midfield. The main question is will Cucurella start at left back to try and shut down Saka, or will one of James or Gusto start there with the other at right back? This feels like a game where Cucurella enters.
OUT: Omari Kellyman (thigh), Jadon Sancho (illness) | QUESTIONABLE: Cole Palmer (knee)
Arsenal team news, focus
Declan Rice is Arsenal’s biggest injury concern as the England international misses the trip to Inter Milan with an ankle problem. If he is missing, expect Partey, Merino and Havertz to start in midfield. The latter took a nasty knock to the head late on against Inter but should be good to go. Odegaard will probably only be fit to play 30 minutes, at most, but his return will be crucial for Arsenal to get their season back on track. Although they have gone poorly, they are only seven points off leaders Liverpool at this early stage, and Arsenal played that much better at Inter on Wednesday. The only reason they lost was because of a controversial penalty kick decision. Can they regain their clinical edge?
OUT: Raheem Sterling (loan – unable to face parent club), Riccardo Calafiori (knock), Kieran Tierney (thigh), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) | QUESTIONABLE: Declan Rice (ankle)
Chelsea vs Arsenal prediction
This feels like the day Arsenal remind everyone how good they are. Chelsea are giving up big chances on the counter and haven’t been punished for it recently. Arsenal seem poised to get back on track. Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal.
